ACES Morning Birding at Hallam Lake 02/4/25

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Tuesday, February 4, 2025, 8:00-11:00am
Weather: Very warm, Overcast
Location: Hallam Lake, Aspen, CO

Today’s outing started with a mini-lesson introducing a newly published book by Pete Dunn titled The Courage of Birds, released in October 2024. This book is filled with many nuggets of information on the winter ecology of North American birds, and is an entertaining and informative read – highly recommended! During this period of mid-winter thaw, bird activity is shifting to take advantage of reduced ice cover and more open ground. While activity was on the low side at Hallam Lake this morning, we did, as always, enjoy some wonderful highlights. A female belted kingfisher flew over the main lake and perched where we could get excellent views through the scope. Pine siskins were present throughout the morning, mainly sticking to the high canopies of both spruces and cottonwoods. We were able to focus on their distinctive, rising, buzzy call notes. We happened into an active flock of black-capped chickadees and a small flock of mallards preening in the sun, and later enjoyed lots of bird activity around the stocked feeders in Bird Hollow. Here, we saw a brown creeper at close range, pygmy nuthatches, pine siskins, and both species of chickadees. We made a stop at the golden eagle’s aviary, currently surrounded by construction on the visitor center and bird-of-prey buildings. While discussing the eagle and general raptor ecology, we noted another brown creeper and many more chickadees in this busy area, seemingly unaffected by the construction work. It was a lovely morning that also included observations of a muskrat, deer antler rubs, fresh beaver cuts on willows and alders, and signs of deer activity. Join us for the next Morning Birding outing on March 4th at Hallam Lake!

Species List:

Mallard
Belted Kingfisher
Steller’s Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Pygmy Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Pine Siskin

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide